T&T Government encouraged by talks to restart closed refinery

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, CMC -The Trinidad and Tobago government says it remains optimistic that it will restart the state-owned Petrotrin oil refinery that had been shut down by the Keith Rowley administration in 2018 because of outstanding debts totalling billions of dollars.

Energy and Energy Industries Minister, Dr Roodal Moonilal, said that the Kamla Persad-Bissessar government is nearing a final decision on the refinery restart, following high-level talks with international entities, including officials from Nigeria.

He told reporters that the government has been inspired by successful refinery revivals in West Africa and that it is finalising a commercial and financing structure that shifts the capital burden away from taxpayers and towards international private investors.

The proposal, which emphasises the use of a world-class operator and local labour, is set to be presented to the Cabinet for a final decision in the very near future.

“I can say that we have had expressions of interest, we have had talks with entities throughout the Caribbean and across the globe. Quite recently in Washington, we have had discussions with officials of the Republic of Nigeria and other places as well on the refinery upstart,” Moonilal said, adding “we’re extremely optimistic.

“In Africa, incidentally, there have been several refineries that have had restarts, some even longer than seven years have been gone, and we were excited to learn of some of the West African developments.

“We are in talks with several entities concerning both operationalising, commercial structure, and of course financing. And we are coming to the end of that period now, and very soon, the cabinet and the prime minister will be involved in the government to take some decisions as we go forward.”

Moonilal said he would prefer not to speak at length on the issue because of the pending discussions by the cabinet.

“But we are coming very soon now to some key decisions on that matter, and we are very happy with the interest, and we are happy with the scenario where, of course, the taxpayer will not have to expend any significant amount of capital investment, but we can get that from the international private sector, from the investing community, and of course we can have a reputable, world-class operator to work with our labour force here...and restart that refinery.”

In March last year, the Rowley administration said that it had accepted the recommendation of an evaluation committee that recommended Oando PLC, one of Africa’s largest integrated energy solutions providers, as the preferred bidder for the lease of the Guaracara refinery.

The government said that was based mainly on Oando’s strong financial track record, particularly its US$1.5 billion acquisition of ConocoPhillips’ assets in Nigeria.

Trinidad Petroleum Holdings Limited (TPHL) owns Guaracara Refining Company Ltd, which operates the country’s only petroleum refinery. It also owns the Paria Fuel Trading Company subsidiary, which imports refined petroleum products and stores and distributes them domestically.

Earlier this year, the government received the interim report of the Refinery Restart Committee” led by former energy minister Kevin Ramnarine.

A government statement said that Committee had been tasked with, inter alia, reviewing the technical assessment and readiness of the refinery, as well as its infrastructure and utilities and developing a plan for its restart within the earliest timeframe.

“The Interim Report notes that despite its closure seven years ago, the restart of the refinery is technically, commercially and financially viable given the current market demands for refined products and crude availability. The closure of the refinery for seven years has led to degradation of the units and supporting utilities and offsites,” the movement statement said.

When the refinery was closed in 2018, the then finance minister Colm Imbert said the cost of upgrading the refinery would have loaded the company with an unsustainable debt burden estimated at TT$12 billion of which TT$5.780 billion was due in August 2019.

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